Request for Information!

Hey all, the 1 month Post Stage 3 post will be up in the next couple of days.

This post is an RFI from anyone (in Australia or otherwise) who will be going for surgery through Dr Goossen. It could be anything from a revision of someone else’s work, through to people running the full gamete of Phalloplasty surgeries with him (like me).

Basically, the plan is to set up a page on here with a one-stop-shop of everyone who has a blog that would like to share their experiences. If you’re interested, please get in contact with me either via comment, message or email (ftmwolf89@gmail.com).

Thanks in advance!!

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 3 Weeks Post-op

Another good week. Thankfully, I’m now at the point where most things have healed to a good standard.

I saw Hans on Wednesday for my second round of pumping and deflating. Thankfully, the swelling had gone down enough to make things easier. It was still quite painful, but I was able to easily find where I needed to squeeze. You need to press quite firmly to get everything to start deflating, but I think that will also change as time goes on and it gets used more.

Hans advised that I need to inflate and deflate twice a day for approximately 20 minutes both morning and night. For the first three days though, I’ve only done it at night – it feels very bruised and sore if it’s done twice a day; but I feel like it might finally be at the stage where I can do t twice a day.

I see Hans again in January – nothing more than inflating and deflating until then!

Pain

Very little, to no pain again this week. It’s usually when I get up in the morning, or while I’m lying down. Everything is a bit heavier than it used to be, so things pull a bit.

Incision Sites

Feeling much better, the silicon is helping significantly.

Scrotum

The swelling has gone down a lot this week, but there is still some there. I can now walk properly, without feeling like a have things stuck between my legs.

The skin seems to be doing well too, so hopefully I don’t have to worry about it eroding.

Penis

Much better again this week. The swelling is still going down, but the hyper sensitivity has gone.

Medication

I’ve come off all painkillers, so I won’t have this prt anymore. Occasionally I’m still taking anti-inflammatories, but only to assist with swelling.

I was in a bit of discomfort when I initially stopped taking them, but that settled very quickly. To be honest, one day I completely forgot to take them, which is how I realised my body was ready to come off them.

Movement

I’ve started going for walks. Over the last three days or so, I’ve been doing about 2.5km a day. This can get a bit uncomfortable at times, but for the main part isn’t a problem. That plan is to increase the distance by about a kilometre today, do that for a couple days and increase it again. It’s nice to be out and about again.

Letrozole Update

The last update I could find on the Letrozole side of things was my 1 month update – so I’ll just update you from there. Apologies if there’s any double-up on information.

I saw my endocrinologist in November after getting my bloods done. The plan was to see how my oestrogen levels were looking, whether there was any major change to my testosterone levels… Basically how my conversion rate was going.

The good news is that it would appear the Letrozole has sorted the conversion issue out. My oestrogen is sitting at a much better level, and my testosterone hasn’t been affected too much.

My endocrinologist was quite happy with this, and has told me to maintain my 1 tablet a week until I see him again in March.

I was quite happy with this until I saw Hans for my stage 3 surgery. He looked over my pre-op bloods and advised that the Letrozole was causing my hemoglobin levels to go up. This is somewhat of a pain because I’ve had issues with this previously (thick blood), which caused a massive stir about whether I had hemochromatosis.

Hans has advised that if I can lose the excess weight, it should cause my conversion rate to go back to normal, which would eliminate the requirement to take the Letrozole. As someone who dislikes medication – I’m all for this!

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 2 Weeks Post-op

This week hasn’t been too bad at all. I flew home on Thursday; the flight itself wasn’t too bad – but plane seats are not comfortable! I’ve been spoilt with recliners at my parent’s house for the last couple of weeks, so I haven’t been used to sitting upright. I’ll liken the discomfort to bruising your tailbone.. But at least it was only a couple of hours.

Since getting home, I’ve been put to work. I’m not allowed to do any heavy lifting – but we’re preparing to move house, so there’s plenty to do that doesn’t involve lifting!

Pain

I’ve had almost no pain this week. When it does come, it’s usually when I’m due for more painkillers, or when I’ve done a bit too much (see above: moving).

I’m quite sore in the incision areas, but I think that’s mainly because the dog keeps headbutting me…

Incision Sites

As I mentioned before – they’re a little tender, but for good reason. I’ve started using in then to help with the scarring.

Scrotum

Whilst the swelling has gone down from last week – I’m still quite swollen. Thankfully, the pain I was experiencing in this area has reduced as well, so things are more comfortable in general.

I have to gently pull down on both the testicular implant and the pump at least once a day. This is to try and stop them riding too high in the scrotum, and I guess it also assists with moving the excess fluid around.

Penis

I’m so glad I got deflated on Monday! It’s much easier to walk around without being pumped up all the time…

Unfortunately I still have a lot of swelling going on here, but that is slowly going down. Funnily enough my glansplasty site actually looks better now that he’s got a bit more shape to him.

I don’t have much else to say on him at this point, but I will make small mention of the area at the base where my clitoris was buried: that particular area it still quite hyper sensitive at the moment. Cleaning can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but it needs to get done. Hopefully this hypersensitivity will go down soon.

Medication

I’ve come off most of my medication, so now I’m just on painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

• Paracetamol (painkiller). 2 tablets, three-four times a day; and
• Ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory). 2 tablets, three times a day.

Still more pills than I’d like, but I’ll definitely need to keep on top of it for the next few days to make up for the missing slow-release painkiller that I finished tonight.

I don’t anticipate much pain, but we’ll see.

Dressings

I removed all my dressings on Monday night after I saw Hans.

In hindsight, I should’ve checked if I had something to replace them with, because the two incisions on my pubic bone weren’t fully closed over (probably due to sweat and being in a moveable area). They’re fine now though, so I won’t be mentioning dressings again.

Movement

Movement amount hasn’t changed, but the speed I’m able to do things has. I’m able to move a lot quicker than last week – although I still get my waddle on when I’m a bit sore!

This week I’m going to start doing some light stretches to get my body used to moving again. I’m really hoping I’m done with surgeries, so I want to be exercising again as soon as I’m allowed to!

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – Post-op Review #1

All in all – today was a good day.

I saw Hans first up this morning. He said he was happy with the way things looked, but he had some concerns that I still have a significant amount of swelling and fluid in my scrotum.

My pump device has also managed to twist itself about 45 degrees to the left. This means that the button area that gets squeezed to deflate the device is not sitting the way it’s meant to. Basically, instead on squeezing from front to back, I have to place my thumb around the rear-right of my scrotum, and push my forefinger into the skin in the middle of my scrotum and squeeze that way. It’s not a problem – it’s just going to take some getting used to.

Hans deflated the device to make sure it worked properly, and I was very much in pain. The inflating side of it was absolutely fine, but because I’m still quite swollen, that area is quite tender, and deflating is not pleasant.

Because of both the swelling and the pain, Hans advised it was probably best for me to come back next week for another review. That way, the swelling has more time to go down – and I get more time to work out exactly where I need to be pushing.

For now, I’ve been deflated. It’s nice to be able to wear proper shorts and underwear again. That being said, underwear is a whole different ballgame now (pun half-intended). I only wore briefs today, but the whole underwear game has changed for me yet again.

In terms of how things look and feel deflated: I’m quite happy. Obviously there is still a bit of swelling in the penis, but that will go down in time. The biggest difference so far is the weight. It’s a bit of a change moving to something that’s got a bit of beef to it! Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m now walking around with a bowling ball in my pants – but going from nothing to something will take a couple days to get used to. 😆

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 1 Week Post-op

Sorry for the delay – I got speaking to my wife last night and got distracted. A week!! I can’t believe it’s been a week already… It’s gone both very quickly and very slowly. Thankfully things seem to be going well, and I see Hans on Monday – so hopefully it’ll be good news when I do see him.

But! For now let’s get the comparisons done…

Pain

All in all, I haven’t had much pain. It’s really been more of a discomfort than anything, for the main part.

The pain that I have felt has been in two areas:

1. My stomach. This pain lasted for about the first 3 days, and then went. You know that feeling when you get winded and it’s difficult to stand up? Well it was like that – but without getting winded. I found that the more active I was, the less the pain was there – so I’d recommend being up and about.
2. My scrotum. Specifically, the top right hand side (where the pump sits). This pain started about 2 days ago, the problem with it is that I don’t exactly know what the pain is (because my nerves are still firing differently to how they should); but it feels sort of like someone is pinching me. I suspect that one of two things is happening: either the pump has shifted slightly and is poking somewhere it shouldn’t be; or the feeling is starting to come back to the area, and what should feel like bruising, feels like pinching because of the nerve-endings. Either way, I think inactivity isn’t helping – so I’m endeavouring to move around a lot more.

Incision Sites

I have 3!!

1. On the right side of my stomach (opposite the glansplasty site);
2. The right side of my pubic bone (for the pump); and
3. The left side of my pubic bone (for the testicle prosthesis).

At the moment, I don’t know how long these incisions are – because they’re covered by a clear dressing that was placed during surgery.

Thankfully these incisions have been behaving themselves.

Scrotum

Things are looking good for my scrotum. The seam doesn’t appear to be degenerating at all, and I’m not feeling too stretched from the size of the implant and pump – which is pleasing.

I didn’t really have much bruising. I had a couple little scabs appear not long post-op from the stretching, but they went after a few days.

The swelling hasn’t been too bad either. Whilst it’s definitely still swollen, it’s going down a little more each day.

Penis

Not much to report here. He’s still half inflated at this point in time, and will remain that way until I see Hans.

Because I have a little more fat than I’d like to have right now, he’s got a bit of a droop happening – but that will rectify itself once I drop the weight.

So as I think I’ve mentioned before – Hans only used one cylinder for me, to try to alleviate any further urethral issues. This means that one side is harder than the other. This doesn’t bother me, as he’s definitely rigid enough to do what he’s meant to.

Medication

I’m currently on a whole heap of medication. Mainly painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

• Amoxycillin (antibiotics). 1 tablet, twice a day;
• Oxycodone Hydrochloride (slow-release painkiller). 1 tablet, twice a day;
• Paracetamol (painkiller). 2 tablets, three-four times a day; and
• Ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory). 2 tablets, three-four times a day.

It’s a whole heap of pills for someone that doesn’t like pills (lol), but it’s necessary. Once I see Hans, I’ll probably try to come off the slow-release again… or maybe reduce the panadol… we’ll see.

Dressings

I currently have 3 dressings. Funnily enough, they cover the incision sites.

As I’m starting to react to the tape, I’m beginning to trim the dressings. I want to keep them on as long as I possibly can – not only because it’ll help the scarring, but also because there’ll be less to pull off in one go!

Movement

My movement is about 90% back to normal. I can do anything, as long as I do it slowly.

Walking is pretty funny at the moment, because I’ve got the John Wayne look happening unless I concentrate. Put a balloon the size of a scrotum between your legs and see how long it takes you to get used to it! Hahaha.

When I see Hans on Monday I’m going to ask him if I can start stretching. Even if that and a bit of a walk is all I do each day – it’s still better than nothing!

That’s it for now. I probably won’t update again until after I see Hans, and from then I’ll move to weekly updates. There isn’t really enough happening on a daily basis anymore to update you.

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 6 Days Post-op

Back on the slow-release painkiller today, Targin does make me a lot sleepier – but I’m pretty glad I took it again this morning. I don’t know whether it had to build up in my system again or what, but I was actually in a bit of pain today (rather than discomfort).

It felt like the pump in my scrotum had shifted and was pinching some part of me while I was sitting down. This wasn’t the case (I had a good feel around to make sure), but that’s what it felt like. I think if anything, it was probably just the fact that the feeling has come back a bit more around that area, so I feel a bit more tender.

I had a proper feel around with my pump today too. Hans wants me to be able to find the little button on the side so I feel comfortable doing it by the time I see him. Up until now I haven’t really had a proper feel (for fear of hurting myself), but I had a proper go today. It took a while (that thing is hard to feel for when you’re going through skin!), but I got there in the end. Once you feel it, you know exactly what it is. Up until that point, everything feels the same.

Either way, I’m glad I found it. Now I just have to practise until I see Hans on Monday.

As I mentioned before, the feeling is starting to come back sharper than before. I didn’t exactly lose sensation, but the nerves shut down for a few days, and they’re coming back online now.

Unfortunately this means I’m now starting to be able to feel the hair on my pubic area get pulled by the dressings I have over my incision-sites. This – and the fact that I’m starting to react to the tape – has signified the start of the trimming process of the dressings. Basically, every day I take a little bit more of the dressing off. Doing it this way is good for a couple reasons:

1. I get to trim the tape off the areas that are beginning to react – reducing the irritation;
2. I can leave the majority of the dressing on for longer – giving the incision-site more time to heal and less chance of infection; and
3. It means I don’t have to take the dressings off in one go (hair + tape = OUCH).

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 5 Days Post-op

Today I didn’t take my slow-release painkiller. On the whole, I don’t think I did too badly. I was definitely in more discomfort than normal, but there wasn’t really any pain as such. By the end of the day I was quite uncomfortable though, so I’ll go back into then for a few more days and try again… This is not advisable by the way – you should definitely follow the instructions you get given for medication.

I’ve had a question about my stomach and what’s actually in there. Basically there are 3 (or 4) main parts to the implant I have:

1. The Pump. This sits in your scrotum, and it’s what you squeeze when you want an erection or want to not have an erection.
2. The cylinder(s). These sit in the shaft of your penis. You’ll have 1 or 2 depending on what you request/will fit/Hans decides to use. I have 1, due to the issues I keep having with my urethra. They fill with fluid from the reservoir, via squeezing the pump.
3. The reservoir. This is a little tube filled with fluid that sits around your stomach area. The fluid moved from the reservoir into the cylinders via the pump.

I’ve attached a link to a video that shows the actual pump I have, how it works and where everything sits.

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 4 Days Post-op

Slept better again last night – only woke up once through the night, which was good. I was also in much less pain this morning.

Today itself was pretty boring. I walked around the yard a couple times and walked into spider webs… I discovered I can react to walking into spiderwebs without hurting myself… But other than those wild adventures, I didn’t really do much.

I actually managed to get into a pair of shorts today!! The swelling has gone down enough that I might be able to start considering other clothing options than a sarong, lol. I was hyper-aware of the fabric sitting against me, but it didn’t hurt, and the fabric was literally only sitting against me – not rubbing.

Pain-wise, today was a good day. I’m not really in any pain anymore – it’s more an ache. You know when you have a massive bruise that just aches? Like that.

The swelling is continuing to go down too. Today I had a bit of a feel on my scrotum for the pump button. I couldn’t find it.. I think it’s a bit higher than I’m anticipating it to be – but I haven’t had a good feel around, because I didn’t have the little keychain pump as a visual gauge. Tomorrow night I think I’ll have a proper feel.

I’m at the point now where I’m moving in a way that could be considered walking! This is opposed to me waddling around like I have a pole up my bum, wincing like my stomach is going to split open at any moment. That sounds much more painful than it actually has been – it’s more like when you move suddenly after not moving for a while and your body is all stiff.

I’ve decided that I feel comfortable enough to start reducing my pain medication; so from tomorrow, I’ll only be taking my slow-release painkiller at night, and through the day I’ll see how I go with just paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Stage 3 RFF Phalloplasty – 3 Days Post-op

Morning: Oh my god I’m in pain this morning! This is probably to most pain I’ve been in so far. My scrotum aches, my stomach feels tender, and I just generally feel like someone’s hit me with a bat.

I feel that this is because I’m moving a lot more than I was in hospital. Yesterday was a big day, and I daresay that that – as well as actually getting a good night’s sleep – is why I’m uncomfortable this morning.

That being said! I did sleep well. I run quite warm normally, so I had the fan on and only a sheet covering my legs. I didn’t want to accidentally injure myself through the night, so I put a towel under my newest appendage to keep him upright, and covered him with a pair of the mesh hospital undies to keep him warm. I actually managed to sleep with a pair of boxers on (which was nice); the opening at the front made sure that access was easy when required.

The swelling is slowly starting to go down on my penis. I can actually start to see the shape of the head again now, instead of this big chunky thing.

Evening: All up it was a pretty relaxed day. I didn’t get up and down too much, because I think I overdid it a little yesterday and I wanted to rest up. Tomorrow though, the plan is to start doing laps around the back yard. My parent’s yard isn’t too big, so it’ll be more frequent shorter trips than anything else. I definitely couldn’t go for a walk in public unless I want to get looked at awkwardly.

I’ve been taking pictures of how the swelling on my scrotum is going – but I can’t see much difference. It doesn’t look like there’s more swelling though, so that’s a good thing!

All in all, so far I’m really happy with everything. I was worried how I was going to go adding two more hanging things – but it really doesn’t bother me, and I can’t wait for the swelling to have all gone down 🙂

I’m feeling confident enough in how things are going that I’m just going to do daily reports from now rather than timed ones.

If anyone has any particular questions or points they want me to cover, please let me know!! Otherwise I’ll just carry on with the way I’ve been going.